AutoPLANT Piping FAQ

Index:

1. Object Enabler: How do I view an AutoPLANT Piping, Equipment, or Structural model in native AutoCAD (requires version AutoCAD 14 or greater)?
2. Object Enabler: Can I view an AutoPLANT Piping, Equipment, or Structural model without AutoCAD?
3. How do I view an AutoPLANT model within 3D Studio VIZ or 3D Studio Max?
4. Does AutoPLANT support Windows ME (Millennium Edition)?
5. What are the recommended ODBC Settings for AutoPLANT using MDAC 2.5?
6. Does Bentley AutoPLANT support Microsoft Vista OS?
7. How can I view AutoPLANT files without using AutoCAD?

Question 1:  Object Enabler: How do I view an AutoPLANT Piping, Equipment, or Structural model in native AutoCAD (requires version AutoCAD 14 or greater)?

Answer: The Object Enabler Utility allows you to view AutoPLANT models directly from AutoCAD, without requiring any Rebis applications on the machine. Download the Object Enabler from SELECTservices Online http://appsnet.bentley.com/downloads/ Download Category = Free Updates, Interest/Discipline = Plant.

Question 2:  Object Enabler: Can I view an AutoPLANT Piping, Equipment, or Structural model without AutoCAD?

Answer: Yes. Rebis' Object Enabler utility allows you to view models in programs such as Volo View Express without AutoCAD being present on the machine. Download the Object Enabler from SELECTservices Online (http://appsnet.bentley.com/downloads/) Download Category = Free Updates, Interest/Discipline = Plant.

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Question 3:  How do I view an AutoPLANT model within 3D Studio VIZ or 3D Studio Max?

Answer: Follow the steps outlined below:

1. Open the existing model within AutoPLANT.
2. Type PROXYGRAPHICS at the command line and set the value to 1.
3. Select the File > Export... pulldown.
4. When the Export Data dialog appears, set the Save As Type pulldown to 3D Studio (*.3ds).
5. Enter a File Name and select the Save button.
6. Select the AutoPLANT objects to be exported.
7. Configure the Export Options when the 3D Studio File Export Options dialog appears and select OK.

A 3DS file will be created within your specified location. Start 3D Studio VIZ or 3D Studio Max to import the 3DS file. The current versions of 3D Studio VIZ 3.0 and 3D Studio Max 3.1 will accept the 3DS files.

Question 4:  Does AutoPLANT support Windows ME (Millennium Edition)?

Answer: Windows ME Millennium Edition is Microsoft's operating system for home users. This upgrade includes Multimedia enhancements. However, AutoPLANT does not support this Microsoft operating system. AutoPLANT does support the following operating systems:

• Windows 2000 (only with service packs installed)
• Windows XP

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Question 5:  What are the recommended ODBC Settings for AutoPLANT using MDAC 2.5?

Answer: Below are the recommendations with their reasons and causes. Recommendations:

Download it (http://www.microsoft.com/data/download_25SP1.htm)

Users should modify their ODBC settings on each workstation for "MS Access for AutoPLANT" to set the following parameters:

Page Timeout: Change from 5 to 5000
Buffer Size: Change from 2048 to ((Machine's physical memory - 12MB) / 4) + 512KB

For example, on a machine with 256 MB of physical memory, set to 65536
On a machine with 128 MB of physical memory, set this to 32768

Reason and Cause:

We've come across two compatibility issues between Microsoft's MDAC v.2.0 and its MDAC v.2.1 or higher. Both problems can drastically degrade the performance of MS Access databases over a network (regardless of network type, on Microsoft and Novel). They have a relatively high severity for any application written for MDAC v.2.0, using MDAC v.2.1 or higher. The performance degradation should be more prevalent on high latency networks (i.e. 10-BaseT networks with a high level of network activity).

In the first problem, Microsoft claims that one can experience a performance drop of up to 400 percent due to a maximum buffer size limitation. In MDAC 2.0, the maximum buffer size was completely ignored, whereas in MDAC 2.1 and above Microsoft decided to start enforcing the maximum buffer size. The default maximum buffer size of 2048KB or 512KB for MS Access drivers is not sufficient for using Access over a network. Ideally, a user should use the following calculation to determine their maximum buffer size settings:

((Machine's physical memory - 12MB) / 4) + 512KB For example a machine with 256 MBytes of physical memory should set this buffer size from 2048 to 65536.

This setting can be changed by double-clicking on the access driver under User and System DSN in the ODBC configuration. Reference the following link for more information: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q168/6/86.ASP
PRB: Performance Loss When Upgrading Jet ODBC Driver

The second problem also has an extremely negative impact on MS Access performance. In this problem Microsoft MDAC 2.0 uses five seconds by default for the MS Access I/O timeout. In Microsoft MDAC 2.1 and above, the default 5000 milliseconds is the default timeout for MS Access I/O. What makes this a problem is that the previous value isn't replaced when upgrading from MDAC 2.0 to MDAC 2.1 or higher, leaving most installs with a five millisecond I/O timeout--clearly not enough time for even a moderately high latency network.

Reference the following link for more information:

http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q246/5/60.ASP
BUG: Excessive Network Activity When Using Access ODBC Driver

Question 6:  Does Bentley AutoPLANT support Microsoft Vista OS?

Answer: Currently we do not but we are working on a version (XM Edition SR1, 8.9.4) that will support Vista and XP 64bit.

Question 7: How can I view AutoPLANT files without using AutoCAD?